Pursuit of Happiness
by Tokenforyourthoughts
Summary: Who was Tom Riddle? Was he really the merciless boy who was destined to become Lord Voldemort, or was there more to him?
1. Prologue

"_Hey, Amy, you're no fun, you know? You could lighten up a bit." A lazy grin stretched across his face as he yawned, stretching his long arms and legs like a cat. "It would do your health no good if you keep it up like that."_

"_Why do you keep insisting that?" Amy replied. "I hang around you, don't I? I could easily go and play with Dennis and his friends, and instead, I play with you. Why isn't that enough?"_

_A look of mock hurt crossed his face. "I thought you enjoyed my company," He said, placing a hand over his heart. "You wound me." His jet black hair fell neatly in front of his grinning eyes, his mouth tilting upwards in a slanted smirk._

_Amy rolled her eyes, but he could see a slight grin appearing on his face. The two of them sat outside the orphanage on a sunny Saturday, underneath the shade of a tree. Children's screaming and giggling could be heard in the background, but both of them paid it no mind. His eyes were only on her long, brown hair and chestnut colored eyes. _

"_You're my best friend," Amy replied simply. "But sometimes, I just wish you would play some games with us. Not necessarily with Dennis, of course, but, well, with me and the other kids." _I wish you were normal._ He knew she had wanted to say._

_He scowled at the mention of Dennis Bishop; it was long known that Amy harbored a crush for the boy, which he was determined to break. It wouldn't do for her to run off. She was his, one of the only thing that was, and he was determined to hold onto her, no matter what. It didn't matter if she was ashamed of him, she was here to stay._

"_Play what?" He forced out, trying to keep a light, curious look on his face. He didn't want to play anything, other than to sit here and just talk and enjoy her company, but it wouldn't do for her to be upset over the matter. _

"_Tag, of course," Amy smiled happily. "I love tag so much. It's so fun, especially with more people."_

_His heart softened at her smile, but the clenching feeling returned. 'More people' always meant, 'This would be so much better if you invited Dennis to play with us.' He didn't want to play any games with Amy that involved other people. He wanted to play something with just the two of them, even if it meant he had to play another round of dollhouse with her._

"_I don't like playing tag," He informed her, colder than he had anticipated. "You should know that."_

_Amy's face fell and she lowered her eyes to the ground. Immediately, he felt bad, but it was against his nature to immediately comfort people, and he let her squirm for a few minutes in awkward silence before he held out her hand towards her. She looked at it, her eyes still damp from tears._

"_I'm sorry," He muttered, barely audible. "You know I didn't mean it. Please forgive me?"_

_He rarely ever apologized to anyone, for he knew he was superior to everyone, but this was Amy, and she deserved special treatment. After all, she was the person who picked him up and treated him right after all the other kids made fun of him. Still, even though he tried to make it up to her, she _still_ wouldn't place him before that Dennis kid. It annoyed him._

_He was jolted out of his thoughts when Amy reached over and hugged him, and hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her. It wasn't as if he didn't like her embracing him, the whole concept of it was still new to him. Amy's hair smelled faintly of lavender, and he did his best to bury his head in it._

_He thought about Hogwarts, his home. He thought about the fact that he was the heir of the Slytherin, superior to everyone else. He thought about the orphanage, which he hated above all. Lastly, he thought about the person who made this whole experience tolerable. Raising his head to slightly look around, he made sure no one was around before he uttered the words he had never uttered to any other person before._

"_I love you,"_

_Amy looked at him, surprised, before a small smile settled on her face. She thought he meant the best friend way; of course she did, she'd seen girls hug and giggle together, blurting out the words like they were meaningless. She didn't understand yet, but he prayed that maybe, one day she would._

"_I love you too, Tom."_

"Tom Riddle, you will get down here right now, of you will _never_ see your school or Mr. Domblebee again."

Sighing quietly to himself, fourteen year old Tom Marvolo Riddle put away his toy wand that he constructed himself, (His real wand was still caged in a container back at Hogwarts. There was no way he would ever be allowed to possess a wand outside of school until he graduated, not when that fool had anything to do with it.) and picked himself off the floor. As much as he didn't care whether or not he saw Dumbledore again, Hogwarts was still the home that the orphanage never provided. He knew he was superior to Muggles such as Mrs. Cole, he was the heir of Slytherin, for Merlin's sake, but Mrs. Cole had one secret weapon up her sleeve that Tom could _never_ beat.

The secret weapon went by the name of Albus Dumbledore.

Mrs. Cole pulled that trick whenever she needed to, which was fairly often. She was mistaken and under the impression that he had _wanted_ to see the old codger, but it didn't matter what she thought his impression was. As long as she pulled that name from a hat, she had Tom under his finger. Geez, what was wrong with him? With the power of his name, the old codger had him trembling. Tom vowed to change that, and one day, it would be _his_ name that was trembled on when spoken.

_Fear me, the great Tom Marvolo Riddle, heir of Slytherin._

He snorted at the absurdity of it, and then silently went downstairs, where Mrs. Cole was waiting, hands on her hips, clicking her tongue impatiently. She was a middle-aged women with nothing better to do with her time and who resembled a stereo-typical librarian lady, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a tight bun and her purple glasses perched on her nose. She was the other orphanage kid's mothers, but to Tom, she was just another Filch.

Tom saw the orphanage kids sitting at their assigned seats around the table, the numbers increasing so greatly this year that there were five different tables needed to sit all the orphans. There were the gossiping girls, who glimmered lip gloss on each other, giggled constantly, and would sink into depression every time one of them were adopted. (Which was very rare, seeing how no one wanted a couple of super chatty, hyper teenage girls who would try to murder you if you separated them.) They would bat their eyelashes at the jocks, especially the soccer boys, but no one would pay them any attention. One of the blondes at the table, Melissa Smith, could be seen winking at Tom all day, but even she didn't want to get too close to what everyone deemed 'a freak.'

Then there were the jocks that were so athletic Tom could swear that they were secretly wizards in disguise, so flexible and so athletic it was nearly impossible for regular Muggles. Nathan Jackson could be seen at this table, flicking his blonde hair out of his eyes like he thought he was the coolest person in the world, and proclaimed that if his parents hadn't gone ahead and ditched him at an orphanage, he would've been the most popular model in the world.

_Such foolish dreams. Muggles can't do anything. _

The third table was consisting of the nerds, who studied hard, and even though the entire orphanage had been forced to go to an extremely bad school, all of the people who were sitting at this table had a chance to go to a very good college, and a good chance for a great future, which was ten times more than Tom could say for the rest of the kids. These kids would never be seen anywhere without a book in their hands, and Tom could swear that sometimes, these kids were very close to guessing about the wizarding world.

The fourth table was the table of kids who didn't belong in any of the groups. The table was for people like Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. No one had known what was wrong with them; one day, they were all right, giggling like foolish little ten year olds, and then later that day on a field trip, they had been shocked into speechlessness, both of them had never been the same again. Tom sneered slightly at them.

The fifth and final table was by far, the coziest table there was. The smallest one, it also had the smallest population sitting there, mainly Tom and his food. None of the other orphanage kids didn't dare to speak to him, because though they never received proper education, it didn't take one of the nerd kids to figure out that bad things came to those who annoyed Tom Marvolo Riddle. Things were stolen, Dennis's rabbit was even hung one year. Tom didn't mind it that way; he preferred to endure the orphanage without any commotion, and get back to Hogwarts as quickly as he could. Causing chaos would only give Dumbledore more of a reason to expel him.

"Now that we're all here," Mrs. Cole fixed her stern eyes on Tom and peered over her glasses at him. "I have some news. We have a new girl at the orphanage today. I expect you all to treat her like family here. We will all be kind to each other." Tom stared at her, but he was sure the other kids at the orphanage were looking at him right now, snorting. He didn't care; Mrs. Cole called this news? Why did it matter that some girl was coming here? She would be no use to him; no Muggles _ever_ were.

Tom carefully picked at his food as the rest of the kids started speaking. He could hear Melissa's shrill voice above all the others, making him wish he could just _Avada_ her to shut her and her big mouth up. It was when Mrs. Cole told her to 'use her inside voices' (really, Muggles were so creative) that Melissa raised her voice even more, which Tom didn't think was humanly possible, and announced,

"Is that girl the one I saw today coming up the stairs with a small pink suitcase? She was a freak. Why is she here?"

"Now, Melissa, that's not nice. Don't call people a freak." She seemed to forget that she called Tom a freak daily. Tom tried as hard as he could to block out the sound by busying himself with picking at his sausage that was slightly burnt.

"She's weird. She can't possibly be older than any of us, yet she has white hair, and silver eyes. No one has those things but freaks. Freaks with diseases."

_That was just mean_, Tom thought, frowning to himself. While he didn't care much of defending someone he never even met yet, he was sure that however the girl looked, she still would be ten times prettier than Melissa would ever be. Melissa's friends sure didn't think so though; they were gossiping within their tight group and debating if ugliness was contagious.

_Fools._

"Melissa, I don't ever want to hear you speak that way again," Mrs. Cole said sternly, though it was evident from the look on her face that she agreed fully with the girl. "Now, please welcome her. She's been an orphan for two weeks, so she's still dealing with it. Treat her nicely." She looked towards the stairs. "You can come out now."

To say that the new girl was more interesting than Tom's sausages was an understatement. He dropped his fork and stared into those impossibly silver eyes as they scanned the room. She was tall, but not taller than him, and her long, silvery hair fell to her hips. Tom had to disagree with Melissa; while he had never been interested in these kinds of things, he had to admit that he had never seen someone more beautiful.

_Almost like a veela._

Her eyes stopped on his, and he felt her evaluate him, before offering him a small smile, which he didn't return. And then, she spoke to the room, though she was looking at Tom the whole time.

"Hello, my name is Nagini."


	2. Who are you?

_Disclaimer: I only own my idea…_

**Chapter 2**

"_Hey Amy?"_

"_Yes, Tom?"_

"_What do you dream about?"_

"_Me? Oh, I dream about all kinds of things."_

"_No, I meant what do you dream about the most."_

"_I've dreamt about a lot of things before. I'd like to fly, though. I dream about that a lot."_

"_Fly?"_

"_Yes, fly. Like a bird. To be free from this orphanage and fly around with you. And Dennis, and the other kids of course. It'd be so much fun. Like a fieldtrip, except in the sky."_

"_Hey Amy?"_

"_Yes, Tom?"_

"_I'll take you flying someday."_

Tom paced around impatiently in his room. After the sneaky little snake introduced herself and engaged herself in a staring contest with him, Mrs. Cole had cleared her throat loudly, and Nathan Jackson had scooted over to make room for her. Obviously, the jocks had disagreed with Melissa's outburst before, and the girly girls had glared at Nagini with passion. Tom, on the other hand, had looked at her with interest. He could feel some magic within her, something he usually could not do. It was either that his magic grew a lot over the summer, which should've been very likely aside from the fact that he didn't have his wand with him, or that this Muggle girl was talented with magic. _Very_ talented. He planned to weasel that out of her.

Which was why when he saw her sit down at Nathan's table, and giggle at something he said, he felt his clench with jealousy. Jealousy that Nathan was getting information of what he considered _his_. That was why when Tom went to dump the remainder of his sausage in the trash can, he passed by the table. He pulled a strand of her hair slightly, and whispered so quickly and so quietly that only she could've heard. He said two words before continuing to walk forwards like nothing happened.

"_My room."_

After he dumped his plate in the sink, he risked a glance at her table, only to find angrily that she acted like she hadn't heard him at all. She was still fooling around with Nathan, punching his shoulder jokingly, and Tom realized from the looks he was getting from Mrs. Cole that he was standing there gaping for a tad too long. Regaining his composure, he retreated to his room where he stayed for the remainder of the dinner, pondering. He hoped she heard him; he wouldn't fancy going to repeat the process again, it would make him seem like a desperate boy. However, Nathan's room was right next to his, so if the girl went in _Nathan's_ room with him, then Tom would know.

Would he really get himself associated with a _Mudblood_, though? It would greatly damage his image, though it would only be for two weeks tops. He was going over to Abraxas Malfoy's mansion to stay for the remainder of the summer. And of course, a Mudblood's words held no wait to _perfect Tom Riddle's_, and no matter what she said at school, the only person who would believe her would be Dumbledore. But Dumbledore was going to be down his throat anyways, so Tom supposed it didn't matter.

"We go to the beach in a couple weeks. You're coming, right? It'll be loads of fun."

Tom had to restrain himself from growling and jumping out to attack Nathan. That git, trying to make a move already when it had only been an hour since the two of the met. He could try that _after_ Tom was done with her, and determined how powerful at magic she was, or if she was even a witch at all. Tom strongly doubted she wasn't though; her magic aura was more powerful than most, and Tom highly doubted he was mistaken. After all, he _was_ always right.

"I apologize." Another voice responded, which Tom immediately recognized as Nagini's; not that he was surprised, Nathan was only seen talking to her during dinner. Her voice was smooth and melodic. _Like a hummingbird_ Tom thought, tapping his fingers on his cabinet. "I am afraid I will not have time."

"What?" Tom could hear a touch of surprise in Nathan's voice. Leaning back, he continued his eavesdropping. "What do you mean, you won't have time? What on earth are you going to do at this orphanage anyways?"

"I am afraid I cannot tell you as of now," She apologized, and Tom could imagine her silver eyes lowering down to the floor. "Maybe I will tell you when the time is right."

There was a loud bang, and Tom thought for a moment that Nathan had punched the girl, and was prepared to come to her rescue when his ear detected her small sound of: Oh! Knowing that she was still alive, Tom sat down on his bed again.

"It's Tom Riddle, isn't it?" Nathan snarled, his outgoing personality suddenly vanished. Tom gritted his teeth that the boy _dared_ to drag him into the conversation. What did he have to do with the girl's refusal to go the beach? "It's because of him why you want to stay here?"

"Tom Riddle? Who is Tom Riddle?" Nagini asked, a touch of innocence in her voice, though Tom could tell it was all a ploy. She knew very well who he was, even if he wasn't directly introduced to her. After all, one must pick up _some_ information about the person she tried to stare down.

"The boy who was sitting alone at his own table during dinner. You saw him, I know you saw him. Don't deny it. Here's a piece of advice, Nagini. Don't go messing with him. He's a freak."

"And why is he a freak?" Nagini asked curiously, and Tom noticed with satisfaction that she didn't deny the fact that she had spotted him during dinner. Slowly, he pulled a chair out, and took some string out of his drawers. It was his last resort; if the girl didn't come willingly, he would tie her to the chair.

"I don't know actually. But Dennis Bishop always goes on about how bad he is, and then once Dennis tries to tell on him, his rabbit gets hanged. And then the next time Dennis goes wacko. It's obvious that the freak is behind it."

"Do you have any proof?" Nagini's voice was still calm, as if she knew all that already and was not surprised by a thing that Nathan said. That, or she was just as good as an actor as Tom, which he highly doubted. He had spent four years perfecting his skills on unsuspecting teachers.

"Why is proof necessary? We have logic, don't we? Something pisses him off, the thing dies or faces some sort of torture. How is that not a freak?"

"I never said he wasn't one," Nagini supplied, and Tom gritted his teeth. How _dare_ that girl judge him? Didn't she know that a mudblood like her wasn't even worth the piece of gum beneath his shoes? He was the _heir of Slytherin_, for Merlin's sake! However, before Tom's magic could reach its peak, the girl continued. "However, I think it is unfair for you to judge him as one just because of something another said. You have no proof, and you do not even know what he did. Calling him a freak when he did not do anything makes you the criminal."

Tom's face lit up with glee; the girl was _defending_ him! That would make his job five times easier. He could hear Nathan stomp down to his room and slam the door shut. Five seconds later, his own door opened with a creek, and Nagini came in, her delicate silver hair flowing behind her.

"You asked me to come?" She asked softly, offering a small smile. Tom gestured to the chair he had pulled out earlier, and she examined it warily before she sat down.

"I know what you are," Tom said bluntly, and she only raised an eyebrow in response. She flicked her hair over her shoulders, and he noticed how long and slim her fingers were, as if they were meant to play the piano.

"Oh, do you, now?" Nagini said, appearing uninterested. "Then, pray tell me, what am I? A human?" Her eyes met his, and Tom could see they were twinkling with amusement. He was going to have to put that out.

"You can drop the act," Tom informed her coldly. "I already told you I know what you are. You are a witch."

Nagini's hand went to cover her mouth. "That is not very nice," She said, sounding as if she were scolding him. "You cannot just go around accusing people of being witches. Have you ever heard about the Salem Witch Trials? I could get killed just because you said that."

"I told you to drop the act," Tom gritted his teeth. This girl was making it more difficult than he had wanted it to be. "I know what you are, and what you do. Just admit it so we can get on with the important stuff."

Nagini's eyebrows rose even further and disappeared under her silver bangs. "I thought this was pretty important too. You accuse me of being a witch and all that. Well then, Mister Riddle, I would like to see your logic and evidence in this. After all, you know I do not take anything if it isn't backed up."

"Magic, wand, Dumbledore, ring any bells?" Tom snarled. He couldn't tell her he was basing his assumptions on her _magic aura_; while he knew he was right, she would probably think she's a psycho and refuse to speak with him. He saw her mouth twitch slightly, and found that she was grinning at him, showing all of her glittery white teeth that were even brighter than her hair.

"I am kidding with you," She smiled lightly, and if looks could kill, Nagini would've been a dead girl already. "Yes, I admit I am…associated with the magic community, though you did not need to put it so harsh. I must say for how you phrased it, my reaction was completely appropriate."

"Except the part where you were acting and lying through your teeth." Tom added, raising one of his perfect eyebrows.

"But you do not know that, do you?" Her eyes twinkled and her mouth curled up slightly. "But that aside, I am rather surprised you would want to be associated with me. After all, I am a _Mud. Blood._" She emphasized each word, and Tom winced slightly, unsure where she was going with this. "And Merlin forbid the important character dropping his level to accommodate a _Mud. Blood."_ She looked at him expectantly.

His smothering gaze stared back into her amused silver eyes. "Who told you that?" He demanded to know. "Was it Abraxas or Orion? Slughorn or Dumbledore?" He was surprised when she flinched slightly at the mention of Abraxas's name, but it was impossible for the two of them to know each other. Abraxas was a Malfoy after all, and purebloods like them _never_ got involved in any way with Mudbloods whatsoever. Maybe, of course, if she was his servant, but then Tom highly doubt that she would be able to be in the orphanage still in one piece. Malfoy's were known to take care of all witnesses.

"I do not know who the first three people you mentioned were." She said plainly. "But Professor Dumbledore has never talked to me about any other subject other than welcoming me to Hogwarts."

"How do you know then?" Tom pressed on. "No one was supposed to know, other than the people I told…" He trailed off.

"I do not know what you are mumbling about." Nagini said, though Tom knew she knew exactly what he was talking about. "You need to stop making assumptions; it will not get you anywhere in life."

Tom evaluated her, though it was clear that she wasn't going to spill, so he decided to change the topic. Better let her be comfortable around him until he could weasel some information out of her. Who knew what she knew in that brain of hers? So instead, he said, "So, you're going to Hogwarts?"

Nagini looked surprised, but quickly hid it and composed herself. Tom had to admit he was impressed; never had he once seen an actor that was as good as him. Strike that, of course she wasn't equal to him, she was a _Mudblood_, but she came close to. He would have to remember that for future reference. "Yes, I am attending Hogwarts in the fall. I hear it is a very good school."

"It is the best of all the schools out there, magic or not," Tom always felt the need to defend Hogwarts. It was his home after all. "Which school did you go to, then? Beauxbatons?"

Nagini shifted slightly, avoiding his gaze, and Tom knew he had finally found a topic where he had the upper hand. "I did not go to Beauxbatons." She said finally. "I think I would not have lasted a day listening to all the high pitch voices squealing in French. While French is a lovely language, it is not something I want to hear every day."

Tom could see how deceiving this girl was; she could change the topic in a heartbeat and if the other person wasn't paying attention, she could get out of tight situations easily. Tom knew better though; after all, it was _his_ tricks that she was performing. "Where did you go to school, then?" He pressed. "If you didn't go to Beauxbatons, then you must have gone to Durmstrang."

"I did not go to Durmstrang." Nagini said, and Tom felt irritated at not being able to detect anything in her voice of her facial expression. He waited for her to elaborate, but she did not, instead picking at her fingernails and locking her gaze with his. The amusement was now gone from her eyes, and were replaced with a serious, calculating look.

"Where did you go to school then?" Tom repeated. "Don't tell me you went to a Muggle school, that's not possible. You wouldn't have such a strong aura then-" He stopped, narrowing his eyes and realizing his mistake.

She raised her eyebrows but didn't comment on his pause. "I did not go to a Muggle school." She informed him. "Though I sometimes wish I did. It would have been a lot less complicated, a lot less worries. Magic is fun, but it becomes troublesome sometimes."

"I would never go without magic," Tom said, his eyes dark. "Ever. I would die before I ever became a squib. I would kill myself."

"There you are, making assumptions again." Nagini rolled her eyes. "I was never implying you. I know you love magic as much as you love Hogwarts; it is pretty obvious. No need to get so defensive."

Tom groaned and buried his head between his hands. "Will you just answer my question straight and honestly?" Tom said. "We're wasting so much time on something so pointless."

"If it is so pointless, why do you continue to pursue it?" Nagini countered. "But I will answer your questions to the best of my ability as long as it is information I do not deem it dangerous. So you may ask whatever you would like."

"Were you homeschooled then?"

"Well, yes I was. It was either that, or that I did not go to school at all. It was a fifty-fifty chance. Bravo, Mister Riddle. Excellent deduction skills indeed."

She was making fun of him. "You were taught by your parents, then." Tom said plainly, ignoring her earlier statement. "You were taught by your Muggle parents."

"I can tell that bothers you," She laughed, and then bit her bottom lip. "No, actually, my parents died when I was three years old. They taught me a little bit about reading, I suppose, but nothing past that."

A regular human being would've stopped to take some time to comfort her, but Tom Riddle was no ordinary human being. He plowed on. "Who taught you then?"

A small smile played on her lips, and Tom realized he had lost his advantage. "I cannot tell you," Nagini replied cheerfully, putting a close to the topic. Tom sighed; he had found out nothing and accomplished nothing except that he wasted thirty minutes in a time where he usually would have been sulking after dinners anyways; he was usually too irritated to read. He had _enjoyed_ their conversation, he realized. He enjoyed conversing with a mudblood. He told himself it was only because he needed to get the information out of her, but he wasn't sure anymore; he wasn't sure about _anything_ concerning this girl.

"Well, it has been a pleasure talking to you," Nagini began, standing up smoothly. "But I must say it is past my bedtime and I must be getting to bed. I will see you tomorrow morning at breakfast, I hope, and you can talk to me more there if you wish. You will have to suffer my presence for quite awhile," She offered him a small smile for the third time that evening, and for the first time, he allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up slightly.

"Your bedtime," He said slowly. "Right, and you go to bed at seven thirty every night, or is this a special occasion?" He smirked.

"All right, you got me," She giggled, hers sounding ten times better than Melissa's or any of her girly friends. "I was just going to enjoy some books I had recently bought in Diagon Alley. That, and I figured that you would like some peace and some time along. I am three doors down from you, if you need anything."

"Books?" Tom demanded, unable to keep the envy out of his voice. Dumbledore had taken all of his dark arts books as well, levitating them over to his office while Tom was sleeping. "You have books? What kinds of books?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I do not have any dark arts books." She informed him, and crushed all of his hope. "I do not enjoy reading that type of thing, nor do I like to buy whatever book I can. I am very selective about them. I apologize, but unless you would like to read something about Hippogriffs, I do not think I can help you."

"Wait," Tom said, suddenly catching on to what she said. "How do you know I read dark art books? On that same note, how do you know so much about me? You've only just met me a few hours ago."

"I will answer no more questions tonight," Nagini said softly, and then stepped out into the hallway. "Goodnight, Tom Riddle."


	3. Thank you

_Disclaimer: The only thing I own is half of Nagini?_

**Chapter 3**

"_Tom,"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Are you ticklish?"_

"_It depends. Why are you asking?"_

"_Because I want to discover one of your weak points."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because you're so _perfect. _There's not a single thing wrong with you. The other kids just call you a freak because they're jealous."_

"_And that's why you want to discover one of my weak points? So you'll expose it to the other kids so it can shatter my perfect image to them?"_

"_Of course not! I…I know this sounds silly, but I want to make sure you're human."_

"_I can tell you I'm not a robot, Amy."_

"_I wasn't implying that. It just…helps two people bond a little bit, you know? Here, I'll tell you mine. I hate being poked in the stomach."_

"_Poked in the stomach, huh."_

"_Yep, I freak out and my mind shuts down."_

"_Sounds fun to try," He reached over, grinning, but was stopped by her wildly waving hands._

"_Stop Tom! If you try it, I'll-I'll smack you!"_

_The two of them fought some more, until they were nose to nose. Tom could feel her breath on him, and he was sure she could feel his. Her grin was still plastered on her face, and he reached over to tuck a strand of stray hair behind her ear. Then he took advantage of the position and bent down to whisper,_

"_I'm ticklish on my elbow."_

**Day 1 of 14**

Tom Riddle woke up the next morning slightly irritated. That annoying girl had crossed his mind more than once as he lay in bed after she left, and he couldn't come to a conclusion of whether or not she was to be trusted. She held a lot of secrets that he wanted, yet the girl provided a source of entertainment he never had at the orphanage. He wasn't sure if he wanted to lose that yet.

He folded up his blanket and looked around. His room was by no means _big_, but it was a comfortable size. It contained his bed, a desk and a chair, and a small wardrobe. Tom had never seen the other orphanage kid's rooms before, so he had no idea if his room was customized for just him, but he thought it was awfully generous of Mrs. Cole to give a 'freak' a room like this; if Dumbledore had been in charge, he would've been locked down in the cellar.

He shut his door quietly, most of the orphanage kids still asleep and wandered down the hallway. He didn't need to be afraid that he would've knocked on the wrong room, as he felt her long before he reached her room. He knocked on the door, and shuffled his feet slightly, hoping she was awake. He didn't need to wait long; he heard shuffling inside the room and the door opened slowly, first exposing her silver eye peeking out, and then the door swung open revealing her in a pink night gown.

"Good morning, Tom Riddle," She eyed him warily, seemingly not noticing how he eyed her attire. "Do you usually get up at this ungodly hour or am I a special case?" Her window was open, and her night gown fluttered slightly.

"It's not an ungodly hour," Tom pointed out. "It's already six. I can't help that none of you know the importance of waking up early. That aside, you are a special case, though," He shot her a flattering smile, and wasn't surprised when she saw right through it and rolled her eyes. "Are you going to invite me in, or are you just going to let me stand here?"

Nagini was still staring at him, as if trying to figure out what his motive was. Hell, even _he_ didn't know what his motive was. He was just bored, and she was becoming an addiction to him. This concept was strangely new. Tom Riddle, heir of Slytherin, did not have _obsessions_ with Mudbloods after just talking to them once. Finally though, she stepped aside, and Tom entered, noticing how her room looked exactly identical to his, except for the fact that hers had bags scattered all over the floor. At least Mrs. Cole didn't favor when it came to rooms.

"Please sit," Her words flowed together like a breeze. "I have not had the time to finish unpacking all my baggage. I apologize for the mess. I was hoping to clean it up before anyone woke up, but it seems you are quite the early riser."

"I could say the same for you," Tom said as he sat down in one of the bean bags. He felt extremely foolish not sitting in something proper and formal, but it was the only thing she had unpacked besides some sheets, and he was _not_ sitting on her bed. "Do you usually wake up this early? I would've thought you would have stayed up late reading your books." He couldn't keep the envy out of his voice, and it was evident from her face that she noticed.

"I did stay up quite late, actually. I always get lost in my book and lose track of time," She admitted, and dug around her luggage until she found a brown paper bag. Tom eyed it curiously, preparing to ask what was in it, and was surprised when she thrust it out in front of her face.

"What's this?" Tom asked, looking at it. "Is it a bomb?"

"If it were a bomb, I would not have been so stupid as to remain in this room. I would be bolting for the exit right now. And I had no idea you were an early bird, so I did not know you would be coming to this room either. Just take it and find out for yourself. I promise it won't bite."

Tom decided she was right; she had _no_ idea he was going to her room, and if her plan was to kill him with a bomb as well as herself, since she was obviously not running, then she could've done it when he was asleep. He reached a hand in and felt something hard, pulling it out. It was a rectangular shaped object covered with wrapping paper.

"Was this necessary?" He asked, holding it up while trying to fight a smile threatening to appear on his face. It was completely covered in pink with yellow smiley faces on it. "You could've just stuck the bomb in a paper bag. No need to get so decorative."

"I already told you, I did not give you a bomb," She smiled. "One would think I have better things to do than to waste my money to buy a bomb for you. Bombs are quite expensive." She giggled when he scowled. "I think the pink adds a nice touch, does it not? Your gift lies inside it. The pink has no use to you whatsoever so you might as well ignore it and move on."

"Tom Riddle will not be caught opening a present, wrapped in _pink_, like an eager child opening his Christmas gift." He informed her. "I demand that I at least receive scissors."

"Scissors are overrated," She countered. "Why use them when you can use your hands? Much more effective. Would you like me to rip it for you? I think you are just against the color pink. Maybe I should wrap it in lavender next time. It is quite a lovely color."

"No wrapping is fine," Tom sighed, and began tearing it from the corner. As the pink wrapping paper tore away, he was beginning to see the rough edges of something black. His curiosity piqued, he tore faster, aware that Nagini was watching his every move.

With the wrapping paper gone, he realized that he was holding it upside down. Flipping it over, he could tell it was a book. The title was written in shiny golden letters. _Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts._

_Tom stared at it in awe. "How did you-" For once, words failed him and he was left sputtering. He didn't care, as the little rectangle in his lap made his whole summer look a lot brighter. _

_"I could not get you the original version. I apologize. The book updates every ten years or so, so I could only get you the most recent one. And you mentioned being lonely here, and no one deserves that, so I got you a book. You made it quite obvious that you were interested in Dark Arts over hippogriffs, and while Professor Dumbledore had his reasons to take your books from you, I thought one book couldn't hurt."_

_Dumbledore has no other reason than because he hates me__, Tom thought furiously, then pushed all thoughts of the transfiguration teacher out of his mind, and stared happily at the book. He had a __book__, now. He had a beautiful book on his precious dark arts. Then, tearing his eyes away from it, he noticed she was still looking at him, smiling. She didn't seem to be expecting anything, just watching. _

_"I-" Tom said, but his voice got caught before he could say the two words he most wanted to, for the first time in his life. __Thank you. __"How did you get this?" He asked her instead, and cursed himself for sounding like he didn't appreciate it. Who knew, maybe she did have a bomb hidden in case he was rude to her._

_"I went to a bookstore, I handed the clerk some galleons, and then I got to walk away with it," Nagini looked amused. "Did you think I stole it? Do not worry; the police will not be after you."_

_"That wasn't what I was worried about," He replied bluntly, and then immediately regretted it. Nagini didn't seem to think his behavior was strange, as she was still grinning. He took it as a sign that he wasn't being too rude. "I meant where did you get it."_

_"Where else would you get something like this?" She asked lightly. "Diagon Alley, of course."_

_Tom gaped at her, his dignity long forgotten. For some reason, Nagini seemed to enjoy his non-collected side more, and she had sat down facing his bean bag. "Diagon Alley? As the Diagon Alley in wizard London?"_

_"Do you know another Diagon Alley?" Nagini asked curiously. "I heard there is something of that sort in China, though someone told me it was called Dragon Alley instead."_

_"How did you get there and back from the time you and I finished talking? That's impossible! How did you do it?"_

_"Magic," Was her reply._

_Tom wanted to shout at her, his happiness and curiosity mixing together to become explosive. He calmed down by taking a deep breath, and then continued. "Did you know you were going to meet me before you got to this orphanage? Was that how you got the book, because you bought it beforehand?"_

_"As much as I would like to say yes, no, I had no idea I was going to meet someone as complicated as you, neither did I know that I would be meeting another magical person." Nagini supplied. "I apologize for not being able to boost your ego more."_

_Tom sighed, and then abruptly stood up. He could feel Nagini's eyes on him, which was why he stopped before he got to the door and turned back, one hand on the handle and the other one holding the book delicately. "I want to say tha-to tell you that I really appreciate it," He admitted. "But I've never said it before, so I don't have much experience. And I don't really say __anything __to-" He stopped, afraid that any error he made would cause her to snatch the book away from him._

_He didn't have to worry, though, as she was still staring at him amusedly. "You do not usually say anything to Mudbloods like me?" She supplied helpfully, and Tom had no choice but to nod; she already saw right through him, yet it sounded strangely awful when the words fell from her lips. "It is alright, I already know. How about I help you? All you have to do is repeat after me."_

_Tom nodded dumbly._

_"Say, th,"_

_"Th."_

_"Ank."_

_"Ank."_

_"You."_

_"You."_

_"Very good," He got the feeling that they were in elementary school, that she was the teacher and he was the little kid who needed to be taught some manners. "Now you connect it all together. Thank you."_

_"Th-"_

_"Too hard? It is understandable." He got the look from her that he got from everyone else, though there was one big difference. Everyone else's were full of pity, while hers contained mostly hope. Strangely, this girl he just met the previous night had become the person who knew him the best, out of his followers and all his teachers. Maybe because they were both orphans, but Tom decided that he was going to continue talking to her, until they got back to Hogwarts. He knew that Nagini knew that he would not be seen with her in Hogwarts, and she accepted the fact. "You do not need to thank me. It is only a little book. We can try again sometimes when it is something bigger-"_

_This time, he interrupted. He was going to take charge._

_"Thank you, Nagini." _


End file.
